Sardinia is one of the most beautiful in the world, which raises the question: Where did everyone go?
No, the tourists, these are enough, but the locals. The population of the island fell to 1.57 million from 1.64 million three decades ago, but half live in the two largest urban areas, while the smaller villages and towns are deserted.
The big problem is that people are the danger of villages such as ghosts ghosts leads the authorities to the island looking for ways to attract new residents.
A couple moving to a village in Sardinia with less than 3,000 residents can receive up to 15,000 euros for a home or home renovation, up to 20,000 euros to launch a business that will create local jobs and a monthly subsidy of 600 euros for their first child, plus 400 euros for each subsequent child, until 5 years old.
10 years ago the last child
With an average of 1.18 children per woman, Italy has one of the lowest fertility rates in the European Union. Sardinia recorded the lowest percentage in Italy, with 0.91 children per woman. To keep the population stable, women should have an average of 2.1 children.
High unemployment on the island and the best prospects elsewhere leave dozens of villages without new residents.
“The last child was born here 10 years ago,” said Maria Anna Kamas, mayor of Baradili, the smaller village of Sardinia with a population of 76.
Despite the motives no one goes
Despite the motives, immigrants ignore the island. Romania, Senegal, Morocco, China and Ukraine are about half of the 52,000 foreigners living in Sardinia, or about 3.3% of the island’s population. The national average is 8.9%.
In 2022, the number of foreigners who moved to Sardinia did not cover a quarter of the decline of the population that occurred that year.
The Italian demographic winter, which is even more difficult in Sardinia, recently forced Georgia Meloni’s right -wing government to allow 500,000 foreign workers to enter the country over the next three years. However, the collapse of the population remains evident in small communities such as the barrel.
More than 30 years ago, the village closed its car elementary school, where there were 15 children.
Baradili and neighboring villages adopted a rotating school system, where children attend classes in three different villages during the year. Every morning they receive them free bus. Gymnasium monitoring or hospital access is much more difficult, and both services are over 30 kilometers away.
